Its 1992 attempt stricken by the U.S. Supreme Court, the City of Chicago is drafting a new ordinance to crack down on loitering by gang members. Mayor Richard Daley today confirmed that he would introduce a plan next week. But he didn't sound confident the new version would withstand a legal challenge.

Unlike the original, which hinged on a definition of loitering as congregation with "no apparent purpose," the new ordinance would require police to issue an order to disperse before arresting gang members.

At the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which successfully challenged the last version, spokesman Ed Yohnka said the ordinance sounded like "good politics, but not good law enforcement. . . . essentially a measure to allow police to engage in mass arrests. You are bound to sweep up innocent people."

Even Daley conceded today that he "couldn't say 100 percent that (the ordinance) could stand muster."

DALEY PICKS CITY WORKER FOR COUNCIL

Mayor Daley today nominated yet another member of the Chicago City Council. The mayor named a relatively little-known city employee, Emma Mitts, 44, to replace former Ald. Percy Giles (37th), who was convicted of taking $10,000 in bribes in the federal government's Operation Silver Shovel investigation of City Hall corruption.

Mitts has been a coordinator of special projects for the Department of Streets and Sanitation. In a news release, the mayor described her as a West Side resident active in community policing and organizing. "She has demonstrated the kind of community activism that has helped make Chicago's neighborhoods thrive," he said.

Mitts' nomination could further strengthen the mayor's hold over city government; she would be at least the 11th sitting alderman chosen by Daley.

CHICAGO'S FIRST TRIPLETS OF 2000?

A 28-year-old Chicago woman has delivered what may be the first triplets born in Chicago in the new year. Sarita Kemp gave birth just after 10 a.m. Thursday at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center to a still-unnamed boy and two girls. Mercy's director of marketing, Jan Fuller, said that, because of the babies' low birthweights (2 pounds 3 ounces, 2 pounds 6 ounces, and 2 pounds) they were being treated in the hospital's special neonatal nursery. The were listed in fair condition Friday.

CITY RENAMES WESTERN AVENUE BLOCK FOR SLAIN COP

The City of Chicago today renames the 2200 block of South Western Avenue for Police Officer Eddie N. Jones Jr., killed there nine years ago today during a drug investigation. Jones died after a handcuffed suspect, Alexis Green, produced a handgun, shooting Jones and seriously injuring Jones' partner, Dennis Dobson. Green was sentenced in May 1993 to 100 years in prison for the crime.

HUNT FOR DENTIST EXPANDS TO THREE STATES

The search for a South Side dentist wanted in connection with the Wednesday slaying of his wife has expanded to cover three states. In the hunt for Gregory Sanders (pictured here with his late wife, Judith), Chicago police have enlisted the help of authorities in Wisconsin, to which Sanders' Lexus SUV was registered; and Indiana, in which the SUV was found on Thursday.

QUAKER CLOSE TO DEAL FOR NEW CHICAGO HOME

A tentative agreement between Quaker Oats Co. and the Daley administration could keep Quaker's headquarters within Chicago. City Hall sources say Quaker's poised to accept a city-subsidized deal to move from its present home at 321 N. Clark St. to a new $175 million, 40-story office building planned for the southeast corner of Lake and Clark Streets. One fly in the oatmeal: Rumors that the Swiss food giant Nestle SA may bid to buy Quaker.

STATE GAMBLING BOSS QUITS

Days after the Tribune revealed that the Illinois Gaming Board had approved the sale of the Joliet Empress Casino to a prospective owner about whose character an internal report had raised serious questions, the board's chairman has resigned.

Robert F. Vickrey quit Thursday after what sources described as a private rebuke from a furious Gov. George Ryan, who quickly appointed a new chairman: board member and former assistant U.S. attorney in Chicago Gregory C. Jones.

The City of Chicago will accept Christmas trees for recycling on Saturday. The annual service, offered between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. at 21 sites across the city, turns trees into a mulch that citizens can take home for gardening or donate to the city's tree-planting program. Similar programs are underway in suburbs across the region, including Lake County.